There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
Monday June 18, 1906
Denver, Colorado – Response to Arrest of W. F. of M. Officers
From the Proceedings of the Fourteenth Convention of W. F. of M.,
-May 29, 1906, Day Two, Afternoon Session-
In his report to the Convention, Acting President Williams describes his response to the arrests of the officers of his union:
ACTING PRESIDENT WILLIAMS’ REPORT.To the Officers and Delegates of the Fourteenth Annual Convention of the Western Federation of Miners:
Brothers—In conformity with the law in such a case, I herewith submit my report as Acting President of your organization.
On the evening of February 18, I received the following telegram from John M. O’Neill, editor Miners’ Magazine: “Come to Denver at once. Moyer and Haywood under arrest.” I left on the next train and arrived in Denver, 6:30 p. m., February 21, and in a very short time learned the facts about the kidnapping of President Charles H. Moyer, Secretary-Treasurer William D. Haywood and Brother George A. Pettibone, by Governor McDonald’s Colorado militia and Governor Gooding’s Idaho Pinkerton thugs.
You are all familiar with the tactics used by the enemy in the past to destroy our organization, and while, at first it looked as though they were working on different lines in this latest outrage, yet when you review the facts in this case, I believe, you will agree with me that their black brains were unable to invent anything new to carry out their dastardly crime.
After having made arrangements to visit the locals of the Western Federation of Miners in South Dakota, President Moyer, on the night of February 17, purchased a ticket for Lead City, expecting to arrive there the next afternoon, but just a few minutes before the Burlington pulled out, he was very secretly arrested and taken to the Denver jail. His wife, feeling sure that he was on his way to the Black Hills, did not feel at all uneasy about him, but the enemy immediately circulated the story that Moyer was leaving the United States for Canada, and they had arrested him in the proper place and time. I mention this to show you that from the start they proved themselves to be deliberate liars.
Haywood was arrested in front of the Pioneer building just after leaving the office, but as he had informed his wife and family that he would take a Turkish bath and stop at the bath house all night, they did not expect him home, and when his wife was asked by a News reporter if her husband was arrested, she told them very quickly, “No.”
Pettibone was arrested at his home on Evans street, and as his wife was out at a party that night, none of the women knew that their husbands were under arrest until they were speeding on a special train to Idaho, guarded by Adjutant General Wells and his trusties in the Colorado militia and Governor Gooding’s Idaho thugs. They were arrested Saturday night, and at 5 a. m., Sunday morning, placed upon the special train which had the “right of way,” and was a record breaker, to Boise, Idaho. Upon their arrival there, they were placed in the penitentiary and treated worse than if they had been convicted of the dastardly crime that was charged against them.
The newspapers, that have always been enemies to organized labor, published, the next morning, a full report of the secret arrest and deportation of our brothers, and, of course, pronounced them guilty of the murder of ex-Governor Steunenberg but the newspapers that have been fair were unable to get any information about the arrests. The reporters for the fair papers went to the jail where our brothers were confined, after being informed by their wives that they were not under arrest, and the man in charge of the jail would not give them the desired information, so to a man that is not blind, it looks as though they were all in the game.
People who do not know Brother Pettibone can’t understand why he is brought into this case, but anyone who knows that he was the man who found board and lodgings for the members of our organization who were driven from their homes and families in the Cripple Creek District, knows that it is because he has always been willing and anxious to lend his assistance to his fellowman in the time of need. That man was never born who is more generous than George A. Pettibone.
You have seen the press dispatches which state that L. J. Simpkins, a member of the Executive Board, was in Idaho at the time that Steunenberg was murdered, but we can prove that this statement is false, for we have a deed in our office signed by L. J. Simpkins for the Index Miners’ Union in the state of Washington, the day before the ex-governor was killed, and as soon as Simpkins heard that the enemy were trying to connect him with the crime he sought advice as to whether to give himself up to the authorities or not, and he was told that so long as he had his liberty, he had better stay with it, as it was the desire of the people who were persecuting our members to murder them first and give them a trial afterwards. If our brothers get a fair trial, we would be glad to see Brother Simpkins there, for we know that he was in no way connected with the crime.
A confession from Orchard, the man arrested for the murder of ex-Governor Steunenberg, was the reason given for the high-handed work of kidnapping our brothers, and the great detective, McParland, said that if our brothers were treated as ordinary criminals, they would not only destroy the world, but Heaven and hell also; but this notorious detective forgot that our brothers have never resisted arrest, and after passing through the most critical period in the history of organized labor, have proved to the world that they love order and obey the laws, and that they are as gentle and tender as they are brave and strong. He also forgot that President Moyer was railroaded throughout the mining counties of this state and confined one hundred and five days in the bull pen at Telluride without a single charge being placed against him.
We do not take Orchard’s confession seriously, for the enemy had three confessions that would hang all the active members of our organization before he made his; nor do we believe that the arrests were made on account of any confession, but it is our firm conviction that our brothers are the victims of the most damnable conspiracy that has ever been hatched in the devilish brain of man.
The first confession against the Western Federation of Miners was made by McKinney in the Pueblo jail, and, of course, this would disrupt the organization, for the members that had charge of the strike in the Cripple Creek District were sure to spend the rest of their lives behind the bars and no one else would take their places, but when McKinney was being cross-examined, he admitted that he was employed by the detectives for the Mine Owners’ Association to pull the spikes from the rail on the Florence & Cripple Creek railroad, and under oath said that “he would wreck a train with two hundred people on for two hundred dollars.” Of course, after this was said, our members were acquitted, but McKinney was placed in jail, and two days before the Independence depot explosion, the Mine Owners’ Association had him released.
The second confession was heralded to the world as being made by Brother Frank Cochran, Secretary of the Victor Miners’ Union No. 23, Western Federation of Miners, and Adjutant General Bell informed the good people of this earth that Cochran’s confession would hang forty of the active members of the Western Federation of Miners, but after keeping some of our members in jail for nearly eight months, and having others under bonds, it was learned that there never was a Cochran confession, as the brother never had anything to confess.
The third confession was from Romaine in a jail in Kansas, and the Mine Owners’ Association had just what they were looking for, this confession would prove that the Western Federation of Miners was a criminal organization, for our officers had employed Romaine to blow up the Independence depot, but when it was found out Romaine wasn’t at Cripple Creek, or anywhere near when the depot was destroyed, they let him go, but he didn’t forget to tell that he was paid to make the confession.
Shortly after our brothers were kidnapped, Steve Adams was arrested in Oregon and taken to the penitentiary at Boise, Idaho, and we have been informed through the press that shortly after his arrival there, he made a startling confession against the “Inner Circle” of the Western Federation of Miners.
I was elected a member of the Executive Board for District No. 1 in 1900, and have always been actively associated with the Federation ever since, and I have never known of an “inner circle,” but do know that all business or dealings of the Federation have at all times been open and above board, and stand today as firm for progressive unionism as the pyramids of Egypt.
That Steve Adams was brought to the penitentiary at Boise, Idaho, by the detective to make a confession there can be no doubt, for up to the present time there is no charge against him, and he has been in the penitentiary since February 20, but you must remember he is being well cared for.
About the same time Vincent St. John was arrested at his home in Burke, Idaho, and also taken to the penitentiary at Boise, and after being confined twenty-three days there, the enemy pretended that they did not know what he was arrested for, and when you take into consideration that in a short time he would have had the Coeur d’ Alenes thoroughly organized, you can readily understand why they wanted him taken out of Idaho and put to death.
Before Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone reached Idaho, the detectives rushed into print to explain that the arrests of our brothers was not a move against the Western Federation of Miners, but, “truth, crushed to earth, will rise again,” and Captain Swain’s evidence before the grand jury at Caldwell proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that their sole object was to destroy our organization, which placed manhood and liberty above wealth and social positions. Swain stated before that grand jury that they didn’t have any evidence against St. John, but Ed Boyce was the man they should get for he was the father of the Western Federation of Miners, and if they could cinch him they could squash the whole organization; but this great captain of the Thiel Detective agency knew very little of the make-up of our membership, for if all the officers that have been connected with the Federation were removed, there would arise from the rank and file men who would take hold of the affairs and guide the Western Federation of Miners on to victory.
The most important question to come up at this convention is to, provide ways and means to prosecute the people that have for several years been persecuting the officers and active members. If you fail to do this, you can rest assured that one outrage will be followed by another, and you are not worthy of being called union men. Had the Western Federation of Miners been in a position to prosecute the men who created the riot at Victor, June 6, 1904, this latest outrage would not have occurred, for as soon as the Mine Owners’ Association know that we are going to demand justice, they will hold their peace, but just so long as they think we will do as we have in the past—quit when our cases are annulled, after being under bonds or in jail seven or eight months on the charge of cold-blooded murder, which they are responsible for—you cannot expect to be treated as human beings by them. I beseech you to leave nothing undone to bring these criminals to justice.
Knowing that the Mine Owners’ Association were acting in concert, and had already created a “corruption fund,” which was to be used to stifle the conscience of men who were willing to sell their honor for gold, we realized that the Federation would have to meet the emergency which confronted the organization, and as this could only be done by securing the best legal talent in America, we retained with Richardson of Denver, C. S. Darrow of Chicago, and we feel perfectly safe in saying that when the paid hirelings of the Mine Owners’ Association and detective agencies measure their perfidy against the mighty intellects of these giants of the legal profession, the conspiracy to send men to prison or the scaffold will be laid bare.
The agent of the surety company in which Secretary-Treasurer Haywood is under bond notified the bank to cease payment of checks from the Western Federation of Miners. In an interview with this agent, immediately after our checks were refused, he stated that I would have to get the sanction of the members of the Executive Board before the checks would be honored, so I sent to each member of the Executive Board the following telegram: “Please wire me as follows: That all checks drawn by William D. Haywood and Charles Moyer, or J. C. Williams, Vice President, and James Kirwan, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, to provide and care for all expenditures of defending our officers and men fully ratified.” The members of the Executive Board responded promptly, and the agent, or surety company, didn’t have the pleasure of tying up our funds very long.
March 12 I received a letter from Mrs. St. John, mother of Vincent St. John, which read as follows:
San Jose, Calif., March 8, 1906.
J. C. Williams, Esq., Vice President Western Federation of Miners:
Dear Sir—A letter from my daughter-in-law states that they are going to take my son, Vincent, to Telluride. She states in substance that the “enemy,” Citizens’ Alliance, has vowed to take his life, as the sheriff of that town would turn over the keys to the jail to them. Can a guard be sent with my son in order to enforce the law and to see fair play.
The charge, as you are aware, was thrown out of court over four years ago. If it be in your power to protect this brave, innocent man. I hope you will leave no stone unturned in order to do so. I am alone. He is my only son, and, while I know, and we all know, he is innocent of any crime, still we must use all necessary precautions against treachery.
By giving this your immediate attention, you will confer an everlasting favor on his mother in great sorrow. Wishing that the Federation will score a great success in this, and in all their trials, I am. dear sir,
Yours sincerely,
(Signed)
MRS. M. C. ST. JOHN,
Rural 6.
San Jose, Calif.I answered as follows:
Denver, Colo., March 12, 1906.
Mrs. M. C. St. John, San Jose, Calif:
Dear Madam—Replying to yours of the 8th inst., which I have just received, must say that you can rest assured that your son will receive every protection from this organization, that we had made provisions for his case before we were sure that he was to come to Colorado; and, in fact, we do not know that he will be brought to this state at this time, but we are certain that it will take but a short time to show the people of this state that he is innocent of anything which the black brains of the enemy may invent.
The sentiment of the people here is not so pronounced against the Western Federation of Miners at this time as it was a few days ago even, and we feel sure that your son will not be molested even if he is brought here on the charge that you think he will be brought here on.
We have received letters from the San Juan country, and they say that they will be glad to see the brother as soon as he is brought there, and the feeling is that it will not take much to show that the enemy has been the cause of not only this persecution, but most of the trouble that has occurred in this state for a long time.
We trust that you will not worry over this affair, and that you will look on the bright side, and always feel that there will be no stone left unturned to show that your son is persecuted for the sole purpose of trying to disrupt an organization that stands for manhood and liberty in preference to wealth and social position.
With best wishes, I remain, Yours fraternally,
(Signed)
J. C. WILLIAMS,
Vice President Western Federation of Miners.Upon learning that St. John was to be brought to Telluride, I wrote the following letter to Governor McDonald, and being afraid that he would pretend that he never received it, if sent through the mails, I sent it by a messenger boy, and instructed him to get a receipt when he delivered it. The instructions were carried out.
Denver, Colo., March 12, 1906.
Hon. Jesse McDonald, Governor State of Colorado, Denver, Colo.:
My Dear Sir—As I have noticed in the press dispatches, and likewise in the daily papers of Denver, that you are about to sign documents to be presented to the Governor of Idaho for the purpose of bringing Vincent St. John to the state of Colorado, I deem it necessary to write you a letter and place you in possession of matters that have come to my notice.
A letter has been written to me by the mother of St. John, who is informed by her daughter-in-law that a conspiracy has been hatched in Telluride, San Miguel county, to take St. John from the possession of the sheriff and merit unto him the vengeance of a mob. I am calling your attention to this matter so that you, as governor of the state of Colorado, will place around St. John the necessary safeguards so that he will be protected from the fury of outlaws. We expect that you, as governor of this state, will see to it that the law and the constitution will be upheld, and that St. John will be protected in his every right as a citizen of the United States.
Trusting that you will give this matter your immediate attention, I remain, Yours respectfully,
(Signed),
J. C. WILLIAMS,
Vice President Western Federation of Miners.The next morning I received the following reply:
State of Colorado, Executive Chamber,
Denver.
March 13, 1906.[Regarding] Vincent St. John
Mr. J. C. Williams, Vice President Western Federation of Miners,
Pioneer Building, Denver, Colo.:Dear Sir—I beg to acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 12th instant, calling my attention to the rumor you have received that a conspiracy has been formed at Telluride to take St. John from the officers of the law and deal with him by mob violence, and I thank you for the information given me.
I am strictly in favor of the enforcement of law, and will do my utmost to see that St. John is protected, and will do just as much to protect him as I would any other man in the state, and have taken steps to see that he is simply dealt with in accordance with the law. Very truly yours,
(Signed)
JESSE F. McDONALD, Governor.The sheriff of San Miguel county had an idea that he could fool the officers of the Federation by circulating the statement that he would not go direct to Telluride with St. John, as there was a bitter feeling against him there, and he would lay over at Glenwood Springs until things quieted down, but we informed the attorneys that were defending St. John that they should leave Denver that very night, and they, as well as the sheriff, were surprised to be on the same train as St. John before they arrived at Telluride. These people thought if they could give St. John a hearing before he had an attorney to defend him, he would waive some of his rights and they could build up a case against him, for, although he is out under ten thousand dollar bond, they know that they have no case against him.
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SOURCE
Official Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Convention
Western Federation of Miners of America
-Held in Odd Fellows Hall at Denver, Colorado
-May 28-June 13, 1906
https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8A3AQAAMAAJ
Report of Acting President J. C. Williams
https://books.google.com/books/reader?id=Q8A3AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb&pg=GBS.PA23
IMAGE
WFM Executive Board, elected at 1905 Convention
http://www.rebelgraphics.org/wfmhall/harry_orchard_confession08.html
See also:
The Confessions and Autobiography
of Harry Orchard
http://www.rebelgraphics.org/wfmhall/harry_orchard_confession00.html
The Cripple Creek Strike:
a History of Industrial Wars in Colorado, 1903-4-5
-by Emma Florence Langdon
http://www.rebelgraphics.org/wfmhall/langdon00.html